VOLLEYBALL: Pekin wins seventh straight

The Pekin volleyball team continued its rebound Tuesday.The Dragons drubbed Mid-Illini Conference rival Canton 25-11, 25-13 for their seventh straight win following back-to-back losses to conference foes Metamora and Limestone.

Molly Flannigan dished out 14 assists for Pekin (21-4, 7-2). Hannah Thompson had 10 kills and six digs, Olivia Theleritis had six digs, Lauren Juergens had four blocks and Maddy Cash had three aces.

Braves efforts: Deer Creek-Mackinaw has been to two volleyball state finals and has three elite eight appearances since Brandon Mueller took over as coach in 2013.

The Chiefs are 15-6 in 2017, including 9-1 in the Heart of Illinois Conference.Versatility has played a factor in Dee-Mack’s success this season.

“We have a lot of players who can do a lot of things,” Mueller said. “It isn’t one player we’re counting on; we’re counting on whomever we can get on the court to make plays.

"Our girls all play multiple positions, which is nice. For the most part, when I put somebody in there she's doing her job and doing it well.”

Rockets soaring: Limestone went 6-1 the first time through the Mid-Illini volleyball slate and was 8-1 (21-3 overall) after Tuesday’s win against conference foe Morton. The Rockets' lone conference loss was to Metamora.Following a three-set win last week at Pekin, Limestone coach Shelly Stoner said her team needs to step up if it wants to compete for the M-I crown.

“I said from the get-go we need to be consistent all year and I haven’t seen that,” Stoner said. “Pekin did a good job of keeping us off balance.”

Peoria Journal Star contributed to this report. Steve Stein can be reached at stevestein21@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpartanSteve.